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Educate me on Flat wounds on P-basses

Gunner77

Gunner77

Nov 30, 2009
452
25
Columbia, MO
#1
I'm not sure if this belongs in basses or strings. Sorry if I got it wrong. I am sure a lot of this is personal preference but I read about a lot of people putting flat wound strings on their p basses. What kind of tone are you going for when you do that? Are there any rules of thumb like flat wounds on a rosewood board and not with maple? Does it matter other than personal preference? I have an American Standard Rosewood and an 83 Squier Rosewood and soon I will have a MIM maple. Any advice about which one to try the flats on?

Gunner
 
#2
Try them on both.

Many players swear by rosewood P's with flats, but Steve Harris of Iron Maiden's sound doesn't suck.

I was never a flat player until I realied that my 1974 P (rosewood board) was a couple of months away from a full fret replacement if I kept using rounds. I switched to flats and they haven't left this bass in 3 years.

I am gigging it tonight at a blues, country, classic rock jam. I like the low end thumpiness I get out of flats on a P.

I really dislike flats on my other P basses when playing metal and most newer rock.
 
#3
Fretboards matter diddly squat when it comes to sound IMO and IME. There is so much variance between, say, one alder and rosewood P-bass and another that you can't pin it to which fretboard you're using. Get what you like the look of.

As for the reason why I put flats on? Well they're not the one trick pony that everyone says they are. I love the feel of flats personally and the rich fundamental tone I get. I used to have flats on all my basses. Flats aren't just flats, they come in different flavors!

I've since steered clear of having flats on all my basses. I have 4 basses I use a lot. 67 P-bass with TI flats, 70s Jazz with Labella 760FMs, and an 82 RI P-bass with DR HiBeams and an active Jazz with DR Hi Beams.

I'm PMing you a link with some sound clips of P-basses with flats so you get the idea.
 
#4
Search the strings section. We've got a lot of clips where flats sound great in a mix. Any P-bass can use flats. Talkbass has converted me to trying and loving flats on my P-bass. The biggest difference is that I can hear myself in a mix. Rounds have more highs which get lost while competing with guitar frequencies, this is a losing battle and a reason for so many "How do I cut through the mix" threads IMO. Flats give more mid range frequencies and the bass can find it's own sonic place in a mix. Not every situation is the same, however this is what a lot of guys here have said, and my experience was the same.
 
#6
Pilgrim said:
There's not much to explain. Flats on ANY P-bass is the essence of bass.

Or, as Nike sez, "Just do it."
Click to expand...

You bet! And word to the wise. Modern flat strings are much brighter than you think. These are not your grandfathers' flat-wounds! Be sure to try several brands to get a feel for what flats are doing these days. You may be surprised!
 
#14
In the past, anytime I would pick up a bass with flats and play it, I would think, "ugh". I like that Entwistle zing. But now that I am much older and have been around the block once or twice, I have tried and used flat wounds in gig settings with awesome results. What you lose in high frequencies is more than well compensated by the chunky lows and warm mids. This tone is essential for me when playing classic rock. It sits in the mix much fatter and richer sounding and truer to the original recording of most 60 & 70's rock.
 
#15
stuonbass said:
In the past, anytime I would pick up a bass with flats and play it, I would think, "ugh". I like that Entwistle zing. But now that I am much older and have been around the block once or twice, I have tried and used flat wounds in gig settings with awesome results. What you lose in high frequencies is more than well compensated by the chunky lows and warm mids. This tone is essential for me when playing classic rock. It sits in the mix much fatter and richer sounding and truer to the original recording of most 60 & 70's rock.
Click to expand...

This. And there are also modern rock band bassists who use flats, i.e. Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus.
 
#19
Definitely an "essential" tone as most would define, although I don't know if I'd consider Steve Harris the usual sound for flatwounds. His extremely hard right hand attack on the strings makes them sound a lot like rounds to my ears. I'd think roundwounds would sound like a buzzy mess if played that hard.

I'm a big fan of the LaBella DTB strings, although I suggest Rob Allens gauges compared to the set that looks like normal bass string gauges. They're a lot less dense of a string, so a .045G feels pretty weak to me. The .060G feels to be about the same tension as a standard .045 metal/alloy string.
 

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